“Where’s the fucking chump?” A clipped voice queried.

“Didn’t he go your way? Its a one-fricking-way fricking alley.” A second voice said.

“Oh of course, I didn’t notice him walking past me in this spacious walkway.”

“No need to get peppy, he must’ve noticed us and pulled some trick. Let’s split up again and search every inch of this area, he can’t be far.”

“Right. I’d swear he turned in this way.”

After a few moments, footsteps marked the leaving of the individuals, inches away from their target.

Ethan turned back to face the woman, who is now lighting a cigarette and taking a drag. She breathed out the smoke and placed a hand by her waist, throwing him a look of irritation.

Sighing, she said. “That was too close Ethan, what on earth were you thinking? Lose them first next time, or die trying, see if I care.”

A wry smile broke over his face “Its good to see you too Rachel, its been a while.”

“So, why the hell are you here?”

“Can’t I just come by to see you? Is it not possible I’m here just for a social visit?”

“Cut the bullshit, I’m going to throw you out to those Ghouls.” Rachel did not look amused. She dropped her cigarette on the floor and ground it with her boots.

“Right, sorry for that. Can we talk inside? This is going to take a while.” Ethan held up the small briefcase he was holding.

Rachel folded her arms and stared at him. “Whatever is inside, I’m not going to like it am I?”

“Hmm. That depends.”

“You’re being cryptic, that’s never good news. In fact, you’re never good news.”

Ethan looked thoughtful.

“That’s harsh. But not entirely unfair.”

Rachel looked at Ethan evenly. Finally, she gave another sigh. “Fuck. Fine.” Rachel turned and walked towards a stainless metal door at the end of the walkway. A broken exit sign adorned the top of the door.

The stainless metal door led to a darkened lift lobby. By the time Ethan caught up, Rachel was already waiting in a lift. As he entered, Rachel tapped a series of buttons. The lift beeped as its doors closed. The lift was perfectly silent, and Ethan began to suspect that it was faulty. As he was about to open his mouth, the lift doors opened to a private suite, with glass windows adorning the far end of the room. Ethan walked towards the window and found himself looking down at a section of the City’s monorail. In the distance, a monitoring tower reads “3”.

“I like the view.” Rachel stated.

“I can see that.”

“Plus it doesn’t stink like the ground level.”

“A definite perk.” Ethan looked away from the glass window and sat to the side of Rachel on the couch, laying the briefcase on a group of crates stacked knee-high (a makeshift coffee table it seems).

It was a normal looking briefcase. Dark brown, no markings and slightly weathered, though obviously well-kept. It seems inconspicuous enough. A sturdy mounted lock mechanism sat in between the briefcase’s handle, it was a dial-based mechanism. There were no discernable markings on the dials that Rachel could see, and there were a total of 7 dials of decreasing diameters – practically endless possibility of passcodes.

Ethan calibrated the outermost dial. Satisfied, he pushed it down and worked on the second outermost dial. After he worked through the last dial, the lock mechanism rotated, replaced by a small sheet of clear crystal framed by bands of gold lines, roughly 1” by 0.5”. Ethan placed his right thumb on it. After a few moments, the briefcase popped open half an inch.

“Precautions. Can’t ever be too careful” Ethan said.

Rachel rolled her eyes and tapped the table impatiently.

Ethan turned the briefcase towards her, and lifted the lid theatrically.

At first, Rachel looked puzzled, then she gasped a little. “I-Is that..”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure it is.” Ethan nodded.

“But that’s impossi..Where did you get it? What were you thinking Ethan?!”

“Its a long story, a really fucking long story. Bloody too. Then again, they’re all bloody. My stories, I mean.”

“I’ve got nothing but time. Anyway, this is exactly why you’re here aren’t you. I have no choice now, I have to know.”

“Still sharp as ever Rachel.” Ethan smiled wryly.

Rachel scowled, and gave him a gesture to get on with it.

Leaning back slightly against the couch, Ethan took a deep breath, and realised that he himself has been tense the whole time. He massaged his temples, trying to collect his thoughts.

“Where to begin.” he muttered, half to himself.

“Now that I find myself in the situation in which I envisioned before I set out on this..errand. Strangely, I find myself not fully prepared for this occasion.”

“You must forgive me of course, I’ve turned this over and over in my mind but real-life has a way of realising itself in entirely different ways. Expectations are terrible things.”

“The simplest way, I guess, is that I should just dive into it. I’ve stalled enough. Whatever it is, all shall be revealed to you when I finish. Try not to interrupt me, okay?” Ethan gave her a friendly wink.

“Yes, I am at your mercy, old fool.” Rachel leaned forward slightly on her couch.